Embracing the realities of life, the things we cannot change, is a pretty powerful way to truly understand and accept the impermanence of life.
One of the Five Remembrances by Thich Nhat Hanh
1. I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
Bummer!!!
Along side other spiritual passages posted on my refrigerator door, are the Five Remembrances that help me in the present............. the now. Those words help keep me grounded some days. I have a tendency to overdo, to tackle more than I should. My father's words echo in my brain. "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach." As a child my mother called me a butterfly as I quickly flitted from one flower to the next enjoying the flight without a care in the world. At my last monthly visit with my massage therapist, one of my indulgences since retiring, she reminded me, with all due respect as she worked my aching shoulder, that I wasn't a spring chicken anymore. She's allowed to tell me that because she's not far behind me in age and we have formed a wonderfully honest relationship.
My mother never felt her age. I remember her telling me about the first time she passed a mirror hanging on her wall and wondering who the heck that old lady was looking back at her. That old lady was wrinkled with grey flecks of hair all over her head, and strutted a turkey neck. My mother had boundless energy. She found it difficult to slow down and modify activities with aging. I come by these qualities naturally. Last spring during one of my yoga sessions, I overdid a side plank posture and felt like I popped a few muscle fibers in my right arm. There was no pain at the time so I just flitted to the next posture. Yoga energizes me, yet is relaxing and meditative. I love the movements, the vinyasa (flow), the stretching and holding of postures, and the final restorative corpse pose that ends the session. It's a dance to my body, strengthening my butterfly wings for my flight to the next flower. Though it's difficult to fly with only one wing. When the pain and discomfort did arrive, I iced, continued monthly massages where Linda specifically manipulated that right shoulder. I applied a gel, and have been modifying some activities for that shoulder. Having injured muscles previously (surprise!), I know how lengthy the healing time can be. I mentioned it to my doctor but told him I had it under control............until recently. Some weeks ago, inflammation set in and took up residence in my left wrist and hand along with the right shoulder and muscles causing such disruption to my lifestyle that I conceded and went back to the doc. I guess he was waiting for me to admit I didn't have it under control. He reminded me..........again............that as we age, we need to be gentle to our tendons and ligaments. But I'm not that old and I feel good and have energy and things to accomplish. He repeated that I need to be gentle to my tendons and ligaments and think before I tackle a task. So with my Rx for two weeks oral anti-inflammatory medication and a salve for the wrist and hand, I'm sleeping at night again. There are younger people than me with osteoarthritis. The rest of winter will give me time to rest and get it under control. Springtime in the mountains is only about six weeks away. The garden will need to be tilled again the first week of March, mushroom compost worked into the clay, and seed potatoes planted the middle of March. As the days warm up and sunlight hours increase, flowers will open and this butterfly will spread wings again.
One of the Five Remembrances by Thich Nhat Hanh
1. I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
Bummer!!!
Along side other spiritual passages posted on my refrigerator door, are the Five Remembrances that help me in the present............. the now. Those words help keep me grounded some days. I have a tendency to overdo, to tackle more than I should. My father's words echo in my brain. "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach." As a child my mother called me a butterfly as I quickly flitted from one flower to the next enjoying the flight without a care in the world. At my last monthly visit with my massage therapist, one of my indulgences since retiring, she reminded me, with all due respect as she worked my aching shoulder, that I wasn't a spring chicken anymore. She's allowed to tell me that because she's not far behind me in age and we have formed a wonderfully honest relationship.
My mother never felt her age. I remember her telling me about the first time she passed a mirror hanging on her wall and wondering who the heck that old lady was looking back at her. That old lady was wrinkled with grey flecks of hair all over her head, and strutted a turkey neck. My mother had boundless energy. She found it difficult to slow down and modify activities with aging. I come by these qualities naturally. Last spring during one of my yoga sessions, I overdid a side plank posture and felt like I popped a few muscle fibers in my right arm. There was no pain at the time so I just flitted to the next posture. Yoga energizes me, yet is relaxing and meditative. I love the movements, the vinyasa (flow), the stretching and holding of postures, and the final restorative corpse pose that ends the session. It's a dance to my body, strengthening my butterfly wings for my flight to the next flower. Though it's difficult to fly with only one wing. When the pain and discomfort did arrive, I iced, continued monthly massages where Linda specifically manipulated that right shoulder. I applied a gel, and have been modifying some activities for that shoulder. Having injured muscles previously (surprise!), I know how lengthy the healing time can be. I mentioned it to my doctor but told him I had it under control............until recently. Some weeks ago, inflammation set in and took up residence in my left wrist and hand along with the right shoulder and muscles causing such disruption to my lifestyle that I conceded and went back to the doc. I guess he was waiting for me to admit I didn't have it under control. He reminded me..........again............that as we age, we need to be gentle to our tendons and ligaments. But I'm not that old and I feel good and have energy and things to accomplish. He repeated that I need to be gentle to my tendons and ligaments and think before I tackle a task. So with my Rx for two weeks oral anti-inflammatory medication and a salve for the wrist and hand, I'm sleeping at night again. There are younger people than me with osteoarthritis. The rest of winter will give me time to rest and get it under control. Springtime in the mountains is only about six weeks away. The garden will need to be tilled again the first week of March, mushroom compost worked into the clay, and seed potatoes planted the middle of March. As the days warm up and sunlight hours increase, flowers will open and this butterfly will spread wings again.
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